Modern Day Piracy Research Paper

During the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, piracy was rampant in the Atlantic, specifically in the West Indies. Piracy has existed since the earliest days of ocean travel, for a range of personal and economic reasons. However, one of the major reasons why piracy was wide spread and rampant in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries was Great Britain’s endorsement and usage of piracy as an asset; in wars fought in the New World. Great Britain with its expanding power and conflicts with other nations would make piracy a lifestyle and lay down the foundation for the Golden Age of Piracy and eventually bring what it created to a screeching halt.

Pirates were the thieves on the sea that came on the land to steal what ever they saw. When they came to the Caribbean, it was right after war when all regulations were down and not enforced. “As the nation battled law and order broke down entirely; pirates grew bolder… after 1700 the Caribbean became a battleground for the European natives” (Document 8). When the government was recovering around the 1700’s from war, no one regulated trade and many of the Native’s along with the European’s things were stolen. Pirates were very strong and successful in stealing and robbing the Natives, and that is why Pirates made trade a negative affect of the

For years and years the leaders of Tripoli which is located in the Middle East had been taking over merchant ships from either the Americans or the or the Europeans. The Tripoli pirates would take over ships and sell

They were from a region in North Africa. They started attacking U.S. Ships, kidnapping people and asking for ransom. They also forced the United States to sign an unfair treaty which demanded annual payment to the ruler of Tripoli. This treaty is called The Treaty of Tripoli. The Barbary pirates roamed the seas for about three centuries. Before the American Revolution the British protected the colonies from the Barbary Pirates. During the American Revolution, the French who an alliance with the colonies had protected them from the Barbary pirates, and now the United States have no protection so they had to sign the Treaty of Tripoli.

The Barbary pirates operated off the coast of North Africa since the time of the Crusades. The pirates were essentially sponsored by the Arab rulers in Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. They are said to have sailed as far north as Iceland, attacking ports, taking captive people as slaves, and plundering merchant ships. Most countries found it easier and cheaper to bribe the pirates instead of fighting them in a war. Seafaring nations would

Then Herrings continue with a second chapter from 1789 - 1801 a short period but it was titled "None who can make us afraid" but some of the most importance during this period was about the Barbarian Parates most of these pirates were from North Africa states as Algiers, Morocco, and Tripoli and Tunis they were demanding tribute, plundering ships even ensalving foreign salilors, but where would we stand here as a British Colony we had protection, but after the revolution war we were in our own so now it was more easily to get attacked by pirates so first the U.S. decided to paid the pirates monthly for them not to attacked, so when we were by our selves we could not make no economy we were just surving by trading so we had to make as deal we had to work with Foreign

Under The Black Flag , a book written by David Cordingly expressed the reality and myths behind piracy. He clearly states in the introduction of the book that his aim “is to examine the popular image of pirates today, to find out where this image came from, and to compare it with the real world of the pirates” (Cordingly xiv). Along with his aim his thesis is also stated in the introduction of his book, which essentially states that the views by everyday people of pirates consists of a mixture of facts, and many other things such as romantic novels and films. He successfully informs readers of the history behind many important misconceptions of common beliefs. Although some of the things every person has learned about a pirate growing up may

Most people do not know this but piracy on international waters and on the coast of Somalia has become an increasingly important issue to global businesses. Since most people are unaware of this growing problem it has just now been noticed. To help stop piracy most crews are encouraged to have trained officers aboard while shipping cargo to avoid attacks by pirates. 95 percent of the piracy on international waters is by somali pirates. That’s right 95 percent. Piracy is robbery/stealing at sea. Not a lot of people are aware that piracy occurs almost everyday.

The Atlantic pirates were after gold or booty as Disney producers portray it to be, but this wasn’t there main goal, instead the Atlantic pirate’s main goal was revenge. After several centuries of poverty and being in the bottom social rank people took to themselves to solve their economic problems by going against king and machinists. Many of these pirates either had worked for this mechanist or for the kingdom’s fleet. As stated by Dr. Marcus Rediker “Merchant seamen got a hard, close look at death: disease and accidents were commonplace in their occupation, rations were often meager and discipline was brutal… Some pirates had served in the navy where conditions aboard ship were no less harsh” (Rediker 206-207). These severe conditions were the driving force for revenge at whatever the cost maybe. The previous experience of being at sea made these pirates very knowledgeable because they also knew that the American colonies were doing their own thing. Even though they were

Bootleggers counterfeited prescriptions and liquor licenses to gain access to alcohol. The most common was to import liquor from other countries on ships. The river between Detroit and Canada was a great entry point as was the overland method on the long border between the two countries. Bootleggers also evaded authorities by building secret breweries with intricate security systems and lookouts.

Authors present similar information in different ways. In the golden age of piracy, despite being disputed when it actually happened. Despite sometimes being worlds apart, the similarities in all these people and their dastardly deeds is incredible. Their paths frequently intersected either through direct contact or other things. Both Rediker and Greene talk about similar situations and people, but they discussed it quite differently. From showcasing the hardships to glorifying their short and fast paced lives, their arguments are as different as night and day, but give us a solid insight into the average life of a pirate in the golden age of piracy.

The Barbary States were states that were found in North Africa. The used piracy to get weaker Atlantic powers to pay them a tribute. The United States fought against Tripoli and Algiers. But sometimes the United States payed tribute for some of their soldiers to come back. The practice of state-supported piracy was not unusual in Europe. Lots of European countries used privateers to attack other countries ships and also participated in transiatlantic slave trade. Great Britain and France thought it was expedient to pay tribute to the Barbary states to keep their merchants safe and also so they could trade with Mediterranean places.

Blackbeard was a brave and most outspoken sea rovers who operated during early 1700s in the coastal regions of the English Southern parts of the New world. His piracy activities, together with his co-pirates are key sectors in United States of America’s history. Happening in the time eminently known as the golden age of piracy, their brave advances in sea robbery facilitated the gradual demise of sea hijacking and theft on the deep seas.1

The pirates have created a unique system that has easily allowed them to continue to pirate with little conflict between one another. The former fishers, military, and technicians have joined together and mutually have all the skills needed to pirate including; difficulties of the navigation and handling ships, weapon and fighting training, and high tech equipment. They happen to be in a spot where lots of cargo ships have to go through as well as Somalis in port cities that tell the pirates when these ships are coming through. The pirates have a good distribution of power and profits and, without a greedy leader, everyone gets paid and no one rebels which could cause the whole system to collapse from the inside. They

Today, piracy has resurfaced, but in smaller numbers. It is centered mainly around the Middle East on important waterways. For instance, Somalia and the Gulf of Aden are hotspots for pirates, because the passing cargo ships are full of supplies for African relief (May, Laura. “History of Piracy”).